CMHA Waterloo Wellington Dufferin

Presentation

January 21, 2014

www.cmhawwd.ca

www.cmhawwd.ca

CMHA Waterloo Wellington Dufferin

Assessment to Outcome: Working with People with

Disabilities

CANNEXUS 2014

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• Sally Michener Potts – team lead for Bridging Employment Supports and Links to Work

• Stephanie Jenkins Moss – employment counselor and planner with Bridging Employment Supports

• Thea Trussler – referral coordinator with Bridging Employment Supports

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Introductions

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• Canadian Mental Health Association, Waterloo, Wellington, Dufferin

• We are an Employment Ontario initiative under the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities

• We are a service that supports individuals with physical, learning and/or mental health disabilities return to meaningful and sustainable employment

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Bridging Employment Supports

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• Individuals must be work ready, have recent contact with the work force (e.g. three years) and a minimum age of 16

• Bridging Employment Supports is a specialty service and often partners with other agencies in various capacities from consultation to funding assessments

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Agenda for today

1. 15 minute introduction to our intake and referral services by Thea Trussler

2. 20 minute overview of our in depth planning process with Stephanie Jenkins Moss

3. 15-20 minute break away to discuss real life scenarios

4. 15 minutes to share group findings5. Question and answer period

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As a specialty service for individuals living with disabilities, we are able to purchase a variety of assessments including:

1. Functional ability evaluations2. Psychological assessments including

psycho-vocational, psycho-educational and neuro-psychological

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Specialty service

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Initial conversation to encourage the individual to share their story through prompting questions such as:“tell me what brought you to our services”“what is the common challenge for you in

the workplace?”“how was your experience in school?”“what do you identify as your disabilities

or barriers to work?”8

Initial assessment & appropriate referrals

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• To effectively support an individual with disabilities one must ask about their life.

• The goal is to find meaningful and sustainable employment.

• It is important to find the right match for both training and employment goals to ensure sustainability

• Allow for time in an initial meeting to help establish a relationship.

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Look, listen and ask for more than their employment story

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Housing situation?Social support network or isolated?Legal supports needed?Is there a criminal record for which a

pardon has not been granted?Do they have a family doctor?Counseling or emotional supports?Financial or debt counseling?Have they had any formal assessments

done? 10

Questions to consider

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• Determine if the individual requires assessments and where those can be completed

• Do you require more information…are they suited to services in your agency or somewhere else? Is employment or training at the top of their list

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Referral process

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• Are they ready for job development with a clear job goal or do they require in depth planning to explore options including potential training?

• Who is the best service provider for job development and can you partner with other service providers to heighten success potential?

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• Ideal to transfer an individual to other services and departments with you in attendance for that first meeting

• Flow of information with signed consents to share information

• Be available for communicating after a transfer …an individual may not share everything with each person

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Seamless transitions

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• The person’s barriers may impede success for direct job entry

• Upgrading or training may be the next step

• In depth planning takes a holistic approach to their training and employment goals

• Remember: You are key to assisting a person to find meaningful and sustainable work…take the time required

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In Depth Planning Process

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Areas to explore ideally should include:1. Education experience2. Work/volunteer/transferrable skills3. Interests, talents and values4. Employment vision as they now imagine

it5. Current life circumstances6. Employment goal with barriers and

solutions7. Labour market research

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Planning Template

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• Video: Functional abilities evaluation• This is an example of one of the many

assessments one can consider for persons with disabilities.

• This video demonstrates testing someone’s physical abilities to perform many daily tasks

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Functional Abilities Evaluation

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• Discussions during meetings may indicate an assessment would be helpful

• Struggles with learning, mental or physical health are important to explore further

• Provides documented clarification for the individual and planner on how to move forward

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Assessments

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• Internal assessments can be done such as the STRONG, or Myers Briggs, Interest Inventory

• External assessments can include language benchmarks, literacy, numeracy

• An assessment is a tool that can increase a person’s opportunity for success

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• Video: Psychological assessments• This is a video outlining what benefits and

uses a psychological vocational, psychological educational and psychological assessments can be

• Psychological assessments can possibly be funded through your organization or seek funding options within your community

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Psychological Assessments

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• Now is the time to create the to do list with the individual

• Create time lines and commitments• Set realistic goals to be adjusted if task is

beyond the individual’s abilities• Ensure all assessments are completed with

the employment/education goal in mind and they are aligned as realistic

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Employment Action Plan

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Typical paths for a participant:1. Connect with an employment service to

implement Employment Action Plan 2. Apply for training funds3. Acknowledgement that withdrawal from

labour market can be viewed as a success

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Next Steps

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• Participants supported through each step of their journey until closure of file

• The individual is now moving ahead on their own

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